It seemed that every goldfinch I tried to photograph yesterday had bits of seed hulls clinging to their beak. I look at this beautiful bird, then read the wise words of the poet, and then notice the seed hull stuck to his beak and it makes me giggle. Reminds me of myself and those times when I thought I was being so cool, charming and witty — only to discover I had a bit mustard tucked in the corner of my mouth during the whole of the conversation …

It’s spring, I have a new set of responsibilities at The Chronicle (the whole of The Outdoors — in more ways than one :P) and the fishing/hiking/trail riding season is about to explode.

We’re all doing fine. Miss JesseDog has a new set of favorite dog candies and cookies that her Aunty Marie sends her. Buddy the WonderDog has had his last outing of the season to the ponds and up to the hill — it is ugly duckling and bambi season, keeping him out of those areas will keep him outta trouble.

This is spring break for Stosh, he’s hoping to get a bit of sun so he can get some work done outside. He has decided to tackle the task of building me a flowerbed alongside the house. The beds will be 2.5 feet wide, only deep enough for me to reach comfortably. I plan to buy some bird and butterfly attracting plants as well as some yummy edibles. Yum!

… Spring has officially arrived as far as I am concerned. Oh, how I love a good daffy!!!

And here is another way to tell that Spring has arrived …

The view above is from the north Beaver Pond looking south on the Middle Marsh.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have a hard time telling when Spring actually arrives because most every day is so gray and rainy, so God sent us the Daffodil and the Skunk Cabbage. When we can spot the bright yellow sunshine lying on the ground, we know we can officially call it Springtime.

My old orchard used to be quite a mess. Stosh is still working on it, there’s no rush in deciding which trees to keep and which to get rid of.

He says the apple tree (shown on the right side of the pic below) will have to go, but there is no rush yet. It still feeds the elk and deer.

The pair of plum trees that you see behind him have breathing room for the first time in years. We’re going to see how they do this spring before we make any decisions.

Seems a little silly to dig a hole in the ground to plant a small tree with such a huge shovel. Silly, but fun!

I bought a Honey Crisp and a Sunrise semi-dwarf.

I said a blessing prayer and a prayer of thanksgiving beside each tree. I know Stosh must have thought I was a little crazy, but he didn’t say anything. :P

The BCP has a prayer for everything. This one was my favorite:

For the Beauty of the Earth: We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.

I love that the prayer of thanksgiving asks God for help in safeguarding the gifts of creation for “our posterity” and not “our prosperity.” Not for ourselves, but for those that follow us.

Episcopalians have been praying for the stewardship of the earth LONG before it became fashionable to be “green.”